Headline roundups published weekdays. Beacon clippings published Mondays, Wednesdays, & Fridays. Weekly original article ☆ published Wednesdays. American classics published on Thursdays. Other clippings, quotes & updates published irregularly on weekdays as time and circumstances permit.

“Chris Pope joins John Stossel to talk about the debate over single-payer health care—a system in which the federal government would assume all health-care costs currently borne by private insurers, employers, and individuals.

Momentum for single-payer is growing among Democratic politicians. Senator Bernie Sanders’s “Medicare for All” proposal would impose $32 trillion in new costs over ten years and a likely annual tax increase of $26,000 per American household. It’s hard to imagine that Congress would adopt massive federal tax increases and rationing of health-care services, but incremental proposals, such as Medicaid buy-in and strict price controls, could be on the horizon if Democrats capture the White House in 2020 and do well in the congressional elections.

Advocates for single-payer health care point to European countries with generous social-welfare systems as evidence of its success. They don’t acknowledge the fact that Germany and France, like the United States, have private and employer-funded health insurance, in addition to government programs for the poor. In the meantime, U.S. lawmakers continue to ignore reforms—like eliminating barriers to hospital competition—that would probably be more effective in improving America’s health-care system.”

“City Journal contributing editor John Tierney joins John Stossel to talk about the politicization of science and how the dominance of left-wing thinkers in academia and the scientific community impedes progress.”

“Tax Day gets a lot of attention, but John Stossel says that attention is misleading, because the April 17th deadline is only for income tax. That's just a fraction of the taxes Americans pay.”

“Oren Cass joins John Stossel to discuss the Paris Climate Agreement and how climate “catastrophists” are harming the debate over ways to adapt to changing global climate. The epithet “climate denier” has been used for years by activists to tastelessly smear critics of the Left’s preferred environmental policies. Cass argues that climate activists have drawn drastic policy implications unwarranted by current climate science.”